Silicon Valley billionaires are prepping for the apocalypse in New Zealand

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel recently installed a panic room in his multi-million dollar NZ property, but what exactly is he planning to get away from?

By Saqib Shah

15th February 2018, 7:32 pm

Updated: 15th February 2018, 9:04 pm

If a natural disaster triggers an apocalypse, we know where Silicon Valley billionaires Peter Thiel and Sam Altman will flee to: New Zealand.

And, they're not alone. The uber-rich are snapping up luxury properties in the country, earning it the odd reputation of a possible safe haven during end times.

Getty Images - Getty

Former Trump adviser Peter Thiel just built a panic room in his $4.8 million home in Queenstown, New Zealand

Paypal co-founder, and Facebook billionaire, Thiel has even built a panic room into his $4.8 million home in Queenstown New Zealand.

His buddy, and fellow entrepreneur, Altman let slip that he has plans to catch a flight out there if a pandemic ever hits.

“Saying you’re ‘buying a house in New Zealand’ is kind of a wink, wink, say no more,” LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman toldThe New Yorker last year.

Others with lavish houses in the secluded getaway include Russian industrial magnate Alexander Abramov, who spent a reported £24 million building five homes on what used to be a farm in Helena Bay (two-and-a-half hours outside of Auckland).

Getty - Contributor

Y-Combinator president Sam Altman let slip his plans to fly to Thiel's pad in NZ if a pandemic should hit

American billionaire William Foley has also purchased the Te Kairanga vineyard in Martinborough, while Tony Malkin (whose family portfolio includes the Empire State Building) also has a property in the country – as does Hollywood film director James Cameron, who notably depicted the end of the world in Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Alamy

Peter Thiel also reportedly owns a property near Lake Wanaka in the Otago region of NZ

And who can forget internet mogul Kim Dotcom, who recently moved out of his NZ$23.5 million (£12 million) mansion – complete with 12 bedrooms, an outdoor pool, and tennis court – after the lease ended.

The outspoken founder of the now-defunct file storage website Megaupload is fighting extradition to the US.

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Last year, when it was revealed that Thiel had applied for New Zealand citizenship (which he was granted in 2011, despite spending just two weeks in the country up to that point), the New Zealand Herald penned an editorial claiming the investor had yet to justify his residency.

In response to it all, journalist Kara Swisher shared a candid joke she heard from a techie with an NZ pad:

“In the event of doomsday, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is I have a bunker in New Zealand. The bad news? Peter Thiel is my neighbour,” Swisher wrote.

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